Hiring out items for parties

ruth0220

Hi everyone. I have the opportunity to buy some items that could be used at parties and weddings, Sweet cart, decorative cake stands etc. and was thinking I could hire them out. So, a very small business idea! My question is, where would I find out about indemnity insurance and what should/shouldn't be on my hire agreement with my customers (breakages, injuries etc._, that kind of thing? The legalities, really. Any advice or further reading would be appreciated. Thank you,

Savvy_Sue

there is an old but almost certainly still relevant thread here. Your items may be lightweight, so your concerns would be around whether they are robust enough for this kind of use, rather than whether you'll need a crane / whether they'll hurt someone if not properly secured ...

I'm sure there is another thread from someone offering eg hot dogs at events, but I can't think of the OP's name, again it would include some useful warnings for you, so hoping someone else will know who I'm thinking about!

Savvy_Sue

Brain slipped back into gear, remembered the poster I was thinking of. The threads which might be helpful to you are here (bookings and cancellations), here (problems associated with growth - don't undercharge!) and here (clarity in your contracts).

One thing you need to be aware of is insurance for the items while they're NOT out on loan - where are you storing them? If at home, you need to make sure you have adequate insurance: your domestic policy will not cover them. Also if you are running a business from home where you are storing items there, then you need to inform your landlord / mortgage provider. While permission should not be unreasonably refused, be ready to answer questions about storage, and whether there will be an increase in traffic to your home, eg if you are allowing hirers to collect from you rather than delivering to the venue.

Then there's vehicle insurance: do check you are covered for delivering these items and for transporting them for business purposes.